Feeling clever?

According to an article about Thomas Edison in the current U.S. News & World Report (October 11, 2004), he had an encyclopedic memory and expected job applicants to have a similar knowledge. The test he administered to every job job seeker had 150 questions; each test was tailored for a specific job. Some of the things college graduates were expected to know:




1.What city in the United States is noted for its laundry-machine making?

2.Who was Leonidas?

3.Who invented logarithms?

4.Where is Magdalena Bay?

5.What is the first line in the Aeneid?

6.What is the weight of air in a room 10 by 20 by 30 feet?

7.Who composed Il Trovatore?

8.What voltage is used on streetcars?



Cabinetmakers had to know:

9.Which countries supply the most mahogany?

10.Who was the Roman emperor when Jesus Christ was born?



Masons were asked:

11.How many cubic yards of concrete in a wall 12 by 20 by 2 feet?

12.Who assassinated President Lincoln?



Edison did not demand perfect scores-merely 90%, which has been likened to having an IQ of 180. Out of 718 college men Edison tested for jobs, only 10% got a "fair" or passing grade. Edison said, "Only 2% of the people think, as I gather from my questionnaire." Magazines, which loved running stories on Edison's employment test, gave Edison pop quizzes with similar questions on a variety of subjects. He average 95